Tape drives move a flexible magnetic tape from one tape spool to another across a read/write head capable of either reading data from or writing data to the tape. The tape drive itself, in operation, is connected to a host computer which either sends information to the tape drive to be written on the tape or receives information that is being read from the tape. Typically, efforts are made to match the data rates of the host and the tape drive. For example, the data rate of the tape drive is affected by basic operations, such as changing data tracks and adjusting read/write head alignment. Furthermore, the data rate of the host is often an aggregate rate that is a function of hardware, such as communication links.